


But I Have Promises to Keep

by sad_panda



Series: And Miles to go Before I Sleep [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aftermath, Angst, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hospitalization, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide attempt, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-28 20:42:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7655977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sad_panda/pseuds/sad_panda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In his arms he carried bridal style a lady covered in red.<br/>The idea would have thrilled him on any other occasion.<br/>But his lady was wearing red for the wrong occasion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	But I Have Promises to Keep

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, first off, I want to say thank-you to those that commented on the last fic, seeing as that kind-of resulted in this. Sorry I didn't really reply, but know I did read them! I just get really freaked out at the idea of actually talking to...well...people. So...um...Sorry... ==P 
> 
> Second, if you haven't read it, then you should read my first fic in this series, seeing as this may not make much sense without doing so. 
> 
> Third...In 'The Woods Are Lovely, Deep and Dark' Marinette may-or-may not have been dead. Here, she isn't dead at the start...
> 
> Enjoy! (==

Chat Noir leaped across Paris, the city’s glowing radiance not enough to lift his somber mood. His feet just didn’t seem to carry him as fast as he needed them to; his mind not racing fast enough to process the facts he had just been given.

 

Oh, and how those facts tormented him every step of the journey to the nearest hospital.

 

In his arms he carried bridal style a lady covered in red.

The idea would have thrilled him on any other occasion.

But his lady was wearing red for the wrong occasion.

His lady was not flying across Paris with him keeping the civilians safe.

 

She wasn’t covered in red and black spots. Just red.

His lady was covered in the wrong wrong type of red.

She was covered in her own blood.

 

Ladybug. The shining beacon of light. The very embodiment of strength and hope. The one person that almost everyone in Paris admired. The friend that would groan at his puns. The partner who he saved Paris with occasion after occasion. His hero.

 

Marinette. The girl that could create art out of a few simple bolts of cloth and some thread. The leader who stood up for the weak. The person that half the class had a crush on at one point or another. The young woman whose fury could scare the wildest of monsters and kindness could charm the sweetest of creatures. His friend.

 

How could he have missed this?

 

How Marinette and Ladybug are the same; with her bravery and courage?

Her kindness and valiant determination in the face of adversity?

Her hope and cleverness paired with that ambition?

 

How could he have missed the signs?

 

How Marinette’s outgoing personality had become quiet?

How Ladybugs unwavering courage had been fading?

How her hopeful eyes had darkened?

 

The hospital laid calmly before him, and the knight hoped he could save his princess. His lady.

 

*****

 

Marinette’s sleep was peaceful.

 

But that didn’t make sense. Her dreams had turned to nightmares as of late.

 

Was she in heaven?

 

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

 

Nope. Too much beeping. Waayy too much beeping.

 

And there was a voice. It sounded familiar.

 

Maybe she was in a sort of limbo?

 

“ _...sorry...purr-incess....never....I should....M’lady....think...didn’t even....”-_

 

Wait....Was that a cat pun?

 

Marinette groaned. She was in hell. This was it. She had accidentally killed herself and was being forced to listen to cat puns for all eternity as recompense.

 

“Marinette?”

 

She opened her eyes.

 

*****

 

Adrien paced nervously back and forth across the hospital room, rambling as he tried to calm his nerves. He had already called Marinette’s parents and explained a modified version of what happened. Alya had also been called and he knew she would be here in less than fifteen minutes.

 

“...I’m so sorry, _purr_ -incess,” The pun slipping out through his ramblings. “I never _noticed_ ...I should have _noticed_. M’lady, I’m sorry. To think you were in this much pain and I didn’t even notice...”

 

He heard a slight groan come from the small girl in the hospital bed. He was beside her in a flash.

 

“Marinette?”

 

She opened her eyes. The bluest eyes, usually full of so much hope and light, had a dark and tired demeanor.

 

They met his. The greenest eyes, usually so determined, carried an unusually sad and worried countenance.

 

She looked up at him in shock, trying to take the puzzle pieces and place them together.

 

“Adrien, did you just make a cat pun?”

 

The distressed look on his face lifted as he laughed. It wasn’t a jolly laugh; rather it was one of relief.

 

“Yes, _purr_ -incess, but I was just _kitten_ around. I was just thinking how _purr_ -fect it was that M’lady will be all right. Though how un- _furr_ -tunate it was that we ended up in this situation...”

 

Marinette would have face-palmed if her arms weren’t secured.

 

“That’s it. I’ve gone to hell. I have to listen to cat puns to the rest of my days...”

 

Adrien snickered, and then sat in the chair.

She was probably still in shock. (So was he.)

 

“Ahh, come-on, Buginette, surely they aren’t that bad? I try really hard on my puns...just to insure they’re _purr_ -fect.”

 

Marinette just gave him an annoyed look. “You already used that one, kitty.”

 

She looked at him again. Her mouth went slack and her face went blank.

 

3...

2...

1...

 

“Chat?”

 

There we go.

 

Adrien nodded and gave a slight smirk as the hero sat there, probably going through her second most traumatic experience of the week.

 

“C-Chat you’re _Adrien_? Adrien is Chat? Chat Noir? Wha-?”

 

She was cut off by the loud **BANG** of the hospital room door being thrown open.

 

“ _Marinette_! Adrien called me! Are you okay? Well-obviously-you-aren’t-okay-since-you’re-here but _what happened_?!?”

 

Alya stood there, panting. Her hair had seen better days and she was still wearing her ladynoir-themed pajamas and slippers. Adrien didn’t know how she had gotten past security and staff, seeing as he himself had only gotten in because he and his father were rich and famous. Nino was also there, half-asleep in shorts and a tee-shirt. He looked slightly confused. Probably because he wasn’t wearing his glasses or shoes.

 

Marinette looked up weakly at her best friend, suddenly looking very drained of all energy. Adrien wasn’t sure whether that was because she had just found out that her friend was a crime-fighting hero, or (more likely) that she had to explain to one of the most popular journalists in Paris that she was in the hospital for self-harming.

 

Adrian would not want to be in her position right now.

 

“H-hey Alya...Nino...I’m fine I er..um...” Marinette seemed to shrink under the scrutinous stare. “I kinda...”

 

“Kinda what? Girl, tell me! It’s three in the morning and you are covered in bandages and your arms are secured and you look like you haven’t slept in days and...what in all of Paris happened?”

 

Marinette visibly flinched, and Adrien hoped that this wasn’t too much for her. Nino still stood in the door-way, but he had fallen asleep and was leaning against the wall.

 

“Alya, let’s let Marinette rest, okay? I’ll tell you what-”

 

“No!” Marinette interrupted with a stern voice before becoming quiet again.

“Adrien, I want to be the one to tell her. O-Okay?”

 

Adrien nodded, as Alya glanced at Marinette, then at Adrien, and finally back to Marinette.

 

“Did something happen between you two?”

 

Adrien and Marinette both vigorously shook their heads. Alya sighed.

“Okay, that's a yes. But if you are trying to distract me from the matter at hand, then you have failed. Marinette, what happened?”

 

“Well...I...mean...not...” Marinette started stuttering and mumbling again, and Alya wasn’t a 3-in-the morning person.

 

“Spit it out, Marinette.”

 

“ _I cut too deep!_ Okay?” Marinette exclaimed with as much force as she could muster, even while her tears threatened to overflow.

 

Alya stood there, too stunned to speak, as Marinette continued.

 

“ _There!_ I said it! I was cutting and I cut too much and too deep and I didn’t even realize it until it was too late and I-hit-the-first-number-on-speed-dial-that-I-could-and-it-was-Adrien and here we are. Happy?”

 

Marinette’s outburst stopped as fast as it had started, leaving a crying girl sitting in a hospital bed. Bandages wrapped around her torso and arms. Drugs slowly pumped in and out of her- keeping the pain at bay. Her close friends quietly beside her, both in shock.

 

“Marinette...” Alya’s tears manifested almost instantly, and she surged forward. She threw her arms around her best friend and hugged her as though she was about to disappear. Which, in a way, she almost had.

 

Marinette had almost vanished off of the face of the earth.

 

“...Why? No. Wait...just...” Alya started and stopped her sentence multiple times; trying to figure out what to say. Because what, exactly, can you say? There was really only one thing that she could think of. 

“Marinette, we love you, okay? And don’t think for _a moment_ that we don’t care.” Alya straightened up and looked over at Adrien. “Hey, you gonna join the hug or not?”

 

He didn’t need to be asked twice.

 

Nino, however, had to be shaken awake before he could properly join the hug. He wasn’t quite sure why they were hugging, or why Marinette was touching Adrien and not melting into a stuttering mess, _or_  why everyone was crying. But he knew that it was important, and everything was (probably) going to be okay. Because they were friends and friends help each other.

 

True friends are those who help you through dark times and walk with you through the light times.

They trudge with you through grey and help you paint the colorful.

They are the family that you choose.

They aren’t perfect, because no one is. But that’s not a bad thing.

People aren’t perfect, and they aren’t going to make a mistake only once, and they will cry and you will cry and everyone will be sad and angry and happy at some point or another.

 

We’re people. We struggle, we rise, we fall, and not necessarily in that order.

But it's okay.

Because we'll do it together.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. Okay.
> 
> So it was rushed and kinda crammed together. I know. But Marinette and Adrien would have gotten interrupted anyways and I was starting to suffer from a bit of writers block so...Yeah. Adrien and Marinette are both in shock so they'll probably figure it all out later.
> 
> [NOTICE: I haven't been in a hospital since my grandpa died and I have never been in a french hospital, so please excuse the errors.]
> 
> Also, I don't think I gave Nino the justice he deserved...But I REALLY wanted him in here so we get Nino! Yay! 
> 
> (And if you don't think that Alya would talk/threaten her way through the hospital staff and security at 3 in the morning to see her injured friend then we are going to have to agree to disagree.)
> 
> If you or anyone you know are going through tough times, don't be afraid to ask for help! Many of you have friends and/or family, and if not that then maybe a school counselor or therapist. I have also heard of online sights that let you talk to people with problems similar to yours, but I don't know much about them... But yeah! You can do it!
> 
> Okay, that's about it. If you guys want more, I guess you could let me know, but FYI it would probably either feature: A) More Mari-centric angst, or B) SADrien with his own problems. 
> 
> I might end up doing both though...
> 
> Bye! Stay safe! (==


End file.
